RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 199 AD in Cirta, Bagduda came from a tribe of futuristic warrior women who traveled through an interdimensional portal in Egypt to change the course of history by preventing the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander.
Born 11 AD in Emerita Augusta, Iccona is a spoiled socialite who was gifted with a transdimensional vision device for her 16th birthday by her ultra-rich industrialist father. When she’s not hosting glamourous interdimensional rave parties on daddy’s metaverse yacht, Iccona competes in pan-galactic vertical scrolling shooter tournaments.
Born in 90 BC in Rome, Cindy Cincinnatus was a loyal centurion who fought with Julius Caesar, using technology from the distant future to help Caesar defeat his enemies; however, she could not foresee his assassination and took her own life out of shame.
Born 2182 AD in Naissus, Rada runs an antique photo booth shop in Neo-Carthage’s souk. Armed with a vintage Hasselblad and a closet of outfits spanning millennia, she offers customers a chance to step into another era. But rumors swirl that her collection isn’t just for show—some say she holds a device for interdimensional travel, turning her shop into a refuge for outlaws, exiles, and time-stranded wanderers. Rada remains as inscrutable as her wares, guarding her secrets behind a wry smile and a haze of smoke.
Born 49 AD in Virunum, Valentin is a common soldier and timid husband of Acca who lived in the shadow of his wife until she was killed defending Emperor Domitian from assassins; henceforth, Valentin vowed revenge on those responsible for her death.
Born 355 BC in Valentia, Elix is a mysterious, itinerant clairvoyant who is known for her ability to predict the future and communicate with alternate dimensions so accurately that she constantly must stay on the move to escape time traveling cyborg witch hunters.
Born 266 AD in Basel to dimension-hopping inventors from the 23rd century, Xylon learned from his mother how to make advanced weapons, and from his father how to use them. Now he travels across space and time in search of his next fight.
Born 151 BC in Prusa, Aulus is an autistic scribe and bastard son of Prusias II; he discovered the secret for interdimensional travel on a Babylonian scroll, but didn’t think anyone would care.
Born 2114 AD in Rome, not much is known about Galla other than she is a dimension hopping cyber-mercenary who dismantles empires through time targeted assassinations.
Born in 250 AD in Nicomedia, Galerius was a celebrated general in a Decopunk alternate universe. His life changed drastically in 303 AD when revolutionaries inspired by ‘Roma’ Luxemburg set fire to the imperial palace, trapping him inside. Severely disfigured and presumed dead, Galerius survived, later re-emerging as the enigmatic ‘Phantom of Nicomedia.’ Now veiled in scars, he operates from the shadows, engaging in McCarthyesque methods and experimenting with emergent time travel technology in a vain attempt to undo the tragic events that reshaped his destiny.
Born 199 AD to a wealthy druid, Cormac is a time-traveling technocratic troubadour who writes propaganda pamphlets that are propagated interdimensionally to buttress the Empire and quell revolt.
Born 2177 AD in Tridentum, Vayla, a server at an opulent hotel tiki bar in Neo-Carthage, is driven by grief and a fierce determination to seek justice for her murdered cyborg lover, Hecate Cybernius. Intelligent and resilient, Vayla becomes deeply involved in the investigation led by two vigilantes. Her resourcefulness, thirst for retribution and loyal Doberman, Ares, make her a crucial ally in the quest to expose the influential killer. Through her involvement in the plot, Vayla embodies the themes of loss, courage, and the relentless pursuit of truth in a dystopian world.
Born 1941 AD in Aquincum in a parallel universe where the Roman Empire never fell, Tanya, while working as a tour guide at the Temple of Janus in Rome, unknowingly stepped through a time portal to the 2nd century AD. Fortunately, her academic knowledge allowed her to blend in with the new surroundings and she eventually found a job as a scribe for Marcus Aurelius, editorializing his writings on Stoic philosophy.
Born 197 BC in Nikonion, Joe was born a slave, toiling in the vast wheat fields of the steppe until one day he saved his master’s life by killing a Pontic magistrate who had come to arrest and execute him for tax evasion. Freed, now Joe lives life on the run.
Born 2067 AD in Scandia, when Runa is not working at a lumber mill crafting Doric columns out of fir, ze performs stand-up comedy mocking gods and emperors; however, one scathing joke about Nero got zir exiled to the asteroid 4660 Nereus where ze toils and provides comic relief at an ore mining colony.
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© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
